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Daisuke Matsuzaka

There are many in Japan who think that the next Japanese star in the major leagues will be a dominant pitcher by the name of Daisuke Matsuzaka. He has been a force at the top of the rotation for the Seibu Lions, helped Japan win the Bronze in the 2004 Summer Olympics (he actually beat Cuba in the preliminaries), and has his eye on the Major Leagues as early as the 2006 season. Of course, he will not be eligible for free agency for another 3 seasons, but it is possible that his team (having just been sold) could post him to the highest bidder (much as what happened with Ichiro) as soon as this year.

Daisuke Matsuzaka
Height: 182cm (5'10)
Weight: 85kg  (185lbs)
DOB:    09/13/1980
Home:   Tokyo

Year  W   L   G   CG SHO  SV   IP     H    R   ER   HR   BB   SO  HBP WP  WHIP   ERA
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
1999  16  5   25   6  2    0  180.0  124   55  52   14   87   151  8   5  1.17   2.60
2000  14  7   27   6  2    0  167.6  132   85  74   12   95   144  4   2  1.35   3.97
2001  15  15  33  12  2    1  240.3  184   104 96   27   117  214  8   9  1.25   3.60
2002  6   2   14   2  0    0   73.3   60   30  30   13   15    78  7   2  1.02   3.68
2003  16  7   29   8  2    0  194.3  165   71  61   13   63   215  9   4  1.17   2.83
2004  10  6   23  10  5    0  146.3  127   50  47    7   42   127  6   5  1.16   2.90
+-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------+
      77  42  151 44  13   1  1001.8 792  395  360  86   419  929  42  27 1.21   3.23

Interesting facts:
- Was the #1 pick of the Seibu Lions in the 1999 draft
- Pitched a 1-run CG against the USA all-stars in the 2004 USA/Japan series.
- Helped the Lions win the 2004 Japan Championships; there 1st such victory in 12 years.
- Recently signed a contract worth 250 million yen (~$2,500,000) per season.

There are questions about Matsuzaka’s health and rightly so given the extreme amount of work before the age of 25 (44 CGs!!). It is speculated that the Lions would be willing to offer him to the highest MLB team quickly, before his workload catches up with him. Regardless, I would imagine that when he finally does come to play in the majors, then he will command a hefty salary.

-m